Chapter 48: Intuition Faction
After some thinking, Yue Hong made a suggestion. “I believe that we should give him a full-body check-up. That way, we’ll know what kind of refined force to choose for him.”
Cheng Zitong immediately rejected the idea. “No! I don’t think it’s appropriate!”
“And why is that?” Gao Ping asked.
“I forgot to mention that he not only grasped the basics of the Respiration Node Breathing Technique today, but also grasped metamorphosis,” Cheng Zitong said and gave everyone a serious look. “I did not tell him about it. Not that I even could. He just figured it out intuitively. That’s no easy feat. How many students have that level of perception?
“But that’s not the main point. What I’m trying to say is that he’s the learn-by-instinct type, unlike you rational types. You can’t use your logic-bound mindsets to tie him down!”
Gao Ping, Yue Hong, and Bian Feng fell silent for a while.
After putting martial arts into real-world practice, each martial artist inevitably developed a system of their own—one that summarized their personal theories on combat and training. Even leaving aside the specific fighting techniques, ideologies varied greatly on the approach to training itself. The differing philosophies eventually gave rise to various factions.
The two major ones were the intuition faction and rationality faction.
The rational side believed that training could be quantified. Martial artists should use assistive tools to display their bodies’ abilities in a clear, objective fashion. That way, they could gain better control over their bodies.
The intuition faction disagreed. They believed that the main joy of martial arts was in the unknown. Exploration was its most attractive side because it symbolized endless possibilities. If they knew what to expect and understood everything clearly, their potential diminished.
“Personal will is the most important and valuable thing for the intuition faction. They don’t accept any restrictions placed on them. If he receives a physical check-up, it’ll destroy the sense of mystery he craves to explore!” Cheng Zitong stressed.
“If that’s the case, then we won’t make him go through a physical check-up for now,” Bian Feng said.
The results from the physical check-up were not the only thing that would ruin the mystery of the unknown. The act of receiving a physical check-up itself would make the people in the intuition faction feel like the mystery had been ruined. From then on, they often lost the motivation to train. There were cases when mutated tissue was affected by emotions and willpower, so they had to avoid such a thing.
“But without a physical check-up, it’ll be difficult for us to know what kind of refined force suits him best,” Yue Hong countered.
Gao Ping turned to Cheng Zitong. “What are your thoughts on this?”
“I was thinking that since he’s the learn-by-instinct type, then we should use the intuition faction’s methods to solve this problem—let him decide on his own. He knows himself better than we do. I can tell that the kid knows what he wants, and I believe that he’ll make the right choice.”
Yue Hong was worried. “But if he makes the wrong choice...”
“If that happens, then it’ll be his choice. We’re already overseeing so many things. Are we supposed to make even his personal choices too?” Gao Ping shot back.
“I think we can let Chen Chuan read Lao He’s book about refined force,” Bian Feng piped up.
Gao Ping pondered over this. “Okay.”
“Alright. It’s decided.” Cheng Zitong grabbed his briefcase and stood up. “I’m going back to make preparations.”
“Wait. Since you’re here today, take this with you. You’re his mentor, so discuss with him whether he should take this certificate.” Gao Ping grabbed a form and threw it at him.
Cheng Zitong took a glance at it. “Got it.”
He stuffed it into his briefcase and left after bidding everyone goodbye.
“Mr. Gao, is Mr. Cheng reliable? Shouldn’t you try to get Mr. He back as soon as possible?” Yue Hong asked.
“I’ll continue calling him. If you have nothing else to discuss, you can leave. I have something else to take care of,” Gao Ping said, dismissing them.
“Alright, Mr. Gao.”
Both of them stood up, bowed to Gao Ping, and left.
It was already dinner time. Since Chen Chuan finally had some free time, he asked his neighbors—Feng Xiaoqi and Luo Kaiyuan—to go to the cafeteria with him.
After learning that Chen Chuan was training with his mentor, they had stopped dropping by to check on him. Hence, they did not communicate much, but since they were all teenagers, they managed to hit it off very quickly.
Chen Chuan got to know that Feng Xiaoqi’s family owned a weapons shop, while Luo Kaiyuan was as quiet as ever, though he answered seriously whenever someone spoke to him.
“Is Dorm One still empty?” Chen Chuan asked.
“I didn’t see the tenant today either. Maybe he doesn’t stay there,” Feng Xiaoqi said.
That was indeed a possibility. In any case, every first-class student had the right to a dorm, even if they didn’t stay there. “Did you get your mentors already?”
“Luo Kaiyuan is lucky. He’s studying under Sun Yunchun of the Sanshou Department. I got Ni Xiaolin from the Grappling Department.”
“A female lecturer?”
Chen Chuan was surprised. Female lecturers usually did not take in male mentees, especially those specializing in takedowns and grappling. Since they needed to fight with their bodies pressed closely together with their opponent, things sometimes got awkward when they taught male mentees.
Feng Xiaoqi laughed. “Madam Ni is in her eighties, so I could be her great-grandson. She doesn’t care about my gender. Besides, she has her own assistant and team. You didn’t think I was her only mentee, did you? She has a few of them, male and female alike. I suppose I’m lucky to have been able to get her to be my mentor.”
He then said, “By the way, our first monthly exam is at the end of the month. Have you started preparing for it?”
“I have.” That was all Luo Kaiyuan said.
“What about you? Your mentor is only mentoring you alone, right? He’ll definitely let you pass your monthly exam, then,” Feng Xiaoqi remarked with envy.
If they did not pass the monthly exam, their evaluation points would get deducted, but the most important exams were the mid-term and end-of-term exams. The monthly exam was just a test from the mentors, while the university management and hired agents would come to the mid-term and the end-of-term exams to check the students’ skills. If they failed, they would be demoted to second-class students, so no one dared to ignore those exams.
On their way to the dorm after dinner, they saw three people walk out of the elevator. One of them looked like an upright person, another wore a cap that hid his face and gave a feeling of unease, while the last was a guy with a boyish face. Despite his looks, he was as large as Zhong Wu.
Feng Xiaoqi waited until they walked past before he whispered to Chen Chuan, “They live across from us. The one leading the way is Zhuang Zhi. The gloomy guy is Feng Sheng, and the large guy at the back is Zhuang Chongshan.”
Chen Chuan observed them. “They only have three people in their area too?”
“I heard that the last one is staying outside campus because he’s still in the process of moving things into his dorm. I’ve only seen his back a few times,” Feng Xiaoqi remarked.
Chen Chuan felt that this was something a certain friend of his would definitely do.
Just as they decided to use the elevator as well, the dormitory supervisor called out to them. “Chen Chuan, you have a phone call.”
“Okay.”
Chen Chuan asked the other two to go ahead, then went to the public phone. He thanked the dormitory supervisor and took the receiver from him. “Hello?”
Wei Changan’s voice came through the receiver. “How has university life been for you, Chen Chuan?”
“I’ve learned quite a lot of things.” Chen Chuan laughed.
“I’m glad you picked up some things. We have a holiday tomorrow. Do you want to go home? I’m going back to visit my dad, so do you want me to pick you up as well?”
Chen Chuan decided to take the offer, since they lived close to each other. “Sure.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. I also need to see you for something else. I’ll tell you about it then.”
Chen Chuan hung up after they settled it. Once he returned to his dorm, he put the First Training Powder into his bag and continued familiarizing himself with the Respiration Node Breathing Technique. He did not neglect the basic breathing technique either. When it was time for bed, he went to sleep.
The next day, he received a call from Wei Changan at around 8 a.m. and brought his things downstairs. Wei Changan’s Discoverer was already parked by the dormitory. After greeting Wei Changan, Chen Chuan got in and fastened his seatbelt. Wei Changan handed him an envelope.
“Here.”
Chen Chuan took out a stack of dev bills from it. “What’s this for?”
“The reward for bringing Qiu Huzi back to the Constabulary,” Wei Changan answered.
“It’s this much?” Chen Chuan was quite surprised.
“Is it? It’s really not. We were hired to retrieve Qiu Huzi from the Blood Scars Gang. If any unforeseen circumstances occurred, we wouldn’t have been compensated for it. No matter the risks we face, we have to shoulder them on our own. Besides, the Agent Association got a seventy percent cut. I split whatever remained fifty-fifty with you. But once I’m a high-ranking agent, we won’t be taken advantage of like this anymore.”
As he spoke, he turned on the engine and drove out of the campus.
Chen Chuan noticed a few receipts and stamped documents in the envelope. They proved where Chen Chuan got his money, so he accepted them. “Thank you, Changan.”
“I told you, we’re both related to constables, so I’ll take care of you.”
When the car left the campus, Wei Changan said, “By the way, the case hasn’t actually ended yet. Qiu Huzi said that he asked Scar Face to deal with Fang Dawei. He never showed his face, so all the forbidden drugs are with Scar Face. The Constabulary is searching for him, but they have no clues. The trail has gone cold.
“I don’t think the Constabulary will put in the effort to find him. They’ll just hire an agent to do it. Since we were the ones who helped last time, they might hire us again. That’s why I have been looking for clues over the past few days. Don’t take it to mind if you don’t see me for a while.”
“Be careful,” Chen Chuan cautioned.
Wei Changan smiled. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”